Before I recount the gory details of Battleship‘s disastrous opening weekend, it behooves me to let you know yet again that The Avengers won the weekend. I adore The Avengers, but it has made so much money so fast that we are just about out of things to say about it in the Box Office report.
It settled a measly 46.6% for another $55+ million at the domestic box office. The Avengers scored a few more speed records, such as fastest film to $450 Million domestic, in 10 less days than the next best film. Next weekend will be interesting though, its first (potentially) non-first place hold will give a decent indication of how big of a final total we can expect.
The good news for Battleship is that it isn’t a complete and utter disaster worldwide. With its international release weeks in the film has already made over $200 Million. Of course it made a paltry $25 Million here in the states and will be viewed as a the new John Carter (and THAT film’s reign as biggest cinematic black eye might end up short-lived).
The Dictator came in third with a bit over $17 Million, which gives the comedy over $24 Million in the bank since it’s Wednesday release. Based on the previous Sasha Baron Cohen films this is a mild disappointment, but not an utter failure. We may be seeing the ceiling for his solo films, but at the end of the day they still make decent money for their size.
Next weekend brings Men in Black 3, which I think still has enough franchise juice and Will Smith appeal to topple Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. Like I said earlier, the most interesting thing to see next weekend is just how soft (or hard) The Avengers falls. If it is a soft hold, or even god forbid another weekend win, the film might have the kind of legs to make its final numbers rather interesting.
1 Marvel’s The Avengers $55,057,000
2 Battleship $25,300,000
3 The Dictator $17,415,000
4 Dark Shadows $12,770,000
5 What to Expect When You’re Expecting $10,500,000
6 The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel $3,250,000
7 The Hunger Games $3,000,000
8 Think Like a Man $2,700,000
9 The Lucky One $1,765,000
10 The Pirates! Band of Misfits $1,450,000
